Tracking device search party management

ABSTRACT

A lost tracking device associated with a tracking system can be located by leveraging one or more community members by inviting these members to join a search party. Search party criteria can be identified and candidate search party members can be selected and invited based on the search party criteria. When invited candidate search party members accept the invitations, they are added to the search party. A last known location of the tracking device can be provided to the search party members, and the search party can remain in effect until the lost tracking device is located. The location of the lost tracking device is provided to the tracking system, which forwards it to the owner of the lost tracking device. A reward can be provided by the owner of the lost tracking device to the tracking system, which releases the reward to the search party member that located the lost tracking device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/852,307, filed Dec. 22, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,271,168, which isa continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/939,897, filed Nov. 12,2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,894,480, all of which is incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to locating a tracking device, andmore specifically, to leveraging a network of users to locate a losttracking device.

Electronic tracking devices have created numerous ways for people totrack the locations of people and/or objects. For example, a user canuse GPS technology to track a device remotely or determine a location ofthe user. In another example, a user can attach a tracking device to animportant object, such as keys or a wallet, and use the features of thetracking device to more quickly locate the object, (e.g., if it becomeslost).

However, traditional tracking devices and corresponding systems sufferfrom one or more disadvantages. For instance, if a tracking device islost, the limited wireless range of the tracking device prevents anowner of the tracking device from locating the tracking device fromoutside the range of the tracking device. Extending the wireless rangeof the tracking device requires additional power often unavailable in alow-power tracking device system. Accordingly, there is a need toleverage a network of users to enable an owner of a lost tracking deviceto more efficiently and effectively locate the tracking device.

SUMMARY

A tracking system can coordinate multiple search party members in orderto locate a lost tracking device. Upon losing a tracked item, the ownerof the lost tracking device can request that the tracking system start asearch party to locate the lost item. The tracking server can utilizeinformation provided in this request to establish a set of search partycriteria and coordinate a search for the lost item. In someimplementations, search party criteria include characteristics ofdesired search party members, such as a current proximity to the lastknown location of the lost item. Using these criteria, the trackingsystem can then select and invite suitable candidates out of thecommunity of users of the tracking system to participate in searchingfor the lost tracking device.

Candidates who accept the invitation to the search party are added tothe search party and can be provided with the last known location of thelost tracking device. Based on this information, the search partymembers can begin looking for the lost tracking device. When one of thecandidate search party members finds the lost tracking device or detectsits signal, its location can then be provided back to the trackingsystem, which can in turn relay this information back to the owner ofthe lost tracking device. This allows the tracking system to leverage acommunity of users in locating a lost tracking device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary implementation for locating a trackingdevice according to principles described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary tracking system of the implementation ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary user mobile device of the implementationof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary community mobile device of theimplementation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates an environment for locating a tracking device,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an interface for use in locating a tracking device,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for locating a trackingdevice, accordingly to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process for compensating a personfor locating a tracking device, according to one embodiment.

The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention forpurposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described herein provide a user with the ability to locate alost tracking device by leveraging the capabilities of a plurality ofmobile devices associated with a community of users (e.g., users of thesame tracking device system) in a secure and privacy-focusedenvironment.

A user can attach a tracking device to or enclose the tracking devicewithin an object, such as a wallet, keys, a car, a bike, a pet, or anyother object that the user wants to track. The user can then use amobile device (e.g., by way of a software application installed on themobile device) to track the tracking device and corresponding object.For example, the mobile device can perform a local search for a trackingdevice attached to a near-by object. However, in situations where theuser is unable to locate the tracking device using their own mobiledevice (e.g., if the tracking device is beyond a distance within whichthe mobile device and the tracking device can communicate), theprinciples described herein allow the user to leverage the capabilitiesof a community of users of a tracking device system.

In particular, a tracking system (also referred to herein as a “cloudserver” or simply “server”) can maintain user profiles associated with aplurality of users of the system. The tracking system can associate eachuser within the system with one or more tracking devices associated theuser (e.g., tracking devices that the user has purchased and is using totrack objects owned by the user). If the user's object becomes lost orstolen, the user can send an indication that the tracking device is lostto the tracking system, which is in communication with one or moremobile devices associated with the community of users in communicationwith the system. The tracking system can set a flag indicating thetracking device is lost. When one of a community of mobile devices thatare scanning for nearby tracking devices and providing updated locationsto the tracking system identifies a flagged tracking device, thetracking system can associate the received location with the flaggedtracking device, and relay the location to a user of the trackingdevice, thereby enabling the user to locate and track down the trackingdevice.

In order to aid in locating a lost tracking device, an owner of the losttracking device can organize a search party of other users within acommunity of users of the tracking system. The owner of the losttracking device can invite users within the community of users to join asearch party based on one or more criteria. Upon being invited, if auser within the community of users accepts the invitation, the user isadded to the search party and can be given the last known location ofthe lost tracking device. When a mobile device of a member of the searchparty receives a signal outputted by the lost tracker device (such as abeacon signal), the mobile device of the search party member reports thelocation of the lost tracking to the tracking system for communicationto the owner of the lost tracking device. Search parties further enablean owner of a lost tracking device to provide a reward to a search partymember that locates the lost tracking device.

Environment Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary implementation in which a trackingsystem 100 is communicatively coupled to a mobile device 102 associatedwith the user 103 and a plurality of community mobile devices 104 athrough 104 n (collectively referred to herein as “community mobiledevices 104”) associated with a plurality of users 105 a through 105 nof the tracking system 100 (collectively referred to herein as“community users 105”). As will be explained in more detail below, thetracking system 100 can allow the user 103 to manage and/or locate atracking device 106 associated with the user 103. In some embodiments,the tracking system 100 leverages the capabilities of community mobiledevices 104 to locate the tracking device 106 if the location of thetracking device is unknown to the user 103 and beyond the capabilitiesof mobile device 102 to track. In some configurations, the user 103 mayown and register multiple tracking devices 106. Although FIG. 1illustrates a particular arrangement of the tracking system 100, mobiledevice 102, community mobile devices 104, and tracking device 106,various additional arrangements are possible.

In some configurations, the user 103 may be part of the community ofusers 105. Further, one or more users 105 may own and register one ormore tracking devices 106. Thus, any one of the users within thecommunity of users 105 can communicate with tracking system 100 andleverage the capabilities of the community of users 105 in addition tothe user 103 to locate a tracking device 106 that has been lost.

The tracking system 100, mobile device 102, and plurality of communitymobile devices 104 may communicate using any communication platforms andtechnologies suitable for transporting data and/or communicationsignals, including known communication technologies, devices, media, andprotocols supportive of remote data communications.

In certain embodiments, the tracking system 100, mobile device 102, andcommunity mobile devices 104 may communicate via a network 108, whichmay include one or more networks, including, but not limited to,wireless networks (e.g., wireless communication networks), mobiletelephone networks (e.g., cellular telephone networks), closedcommunication networks, open communication networks, satellite networks,navigation networks, broadband networks, narrowband networks, theInternet, local area networks, and any other networks capable ofcarrying data and/or communications signals between the tracking system100, mobile device 102, and community mobile devices 104. The mobiledevice 102 and community of mobile devices 104 may also be incommunication with a tracking device 106 via a second network 110. Thesecond network 110 may be a similar or different type of network as thefirst network 108. In some embodiments, the second network 110 comprisesa wireless network with a limited communication range, such as aBluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless network. In someconfigurations, the second network 110 is a point-to-point networkincluding the tracking device 106 and one or more mobile devices thatfall within a proximity of the tracking device 106. Accordingly, themobile device 102 and community mobile devices 104 are only able tocommunicate with the tracking device 106 if they are within a closeproximity to the tracking device. In some configurations, the mobiledevice 102 and one or more community mobile devices 104 may each beassociated with multiple tracking devices associated with various users.

As mentioned above, FIG. 1 illustrates the mobile device 102 associatedwith the user 103. The mobile device 102 can be configured to performone or more functions described herein with respect to locating trackingdevices (e.g., tracking device 106). For example, the mobile device 102can receive input from the user 103 representative of information aboutthe user 103 and information about a tracking device 106. The mobiledevice 102 may then provide the received user information, trackingdevice information, and/or information about the mobile device 102 tothe tracking system 100. Accordingly, the tracking system 100 is able toassociate the mobile device 102, the user 103, and/or the trackingdevice 106 with one another. In some embodiments, the mobile device 102can communicate with the tracking device 106 and provide informationregarding the location of the tracking device to the user 103. Forexample, the mobile device 102 can detect a communication signal fromthe tracking device 106 (e.g., by way of second network 110) as well asa strength of the communication signal to determine an approximatedistance between the mobile device 102 and the tracking device 106. Themobile device 102 can then provide this information to the user 103(e.g., by way of one or more graphical user interfaces) to assist theuser 103 to locate the tracking device 106. Accordingly, the user 103can use the mobile device 102 to track and locate the tracking device106 and a corresponding object associated with the tracking device 106.If the mobile device 102 is located beyond the immediate range ofcommunication with the tracking device 106 (e.g., beyond the secondnetwork 110), the mobile device 102 can be configured to send anindication that a tracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system100, requesting assistance in finding the tracking device. The mobiledevice 102 can send an indication of a lost device in response to acommand from the user 103. For example, once the user 103 has determinedthat the tracking device 106 is lost, the user can provide user input tothe mobile device 102 (e.g., by way of a graphical user interface),requesting that the mobile device 102 send an indication that thetracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system 100. In someexamples, the lost indication can include information identifying theuser 103 (e.g., name, username, authentication information), informationassociated with the mobile device 102 (e.g., a mobile phone number),information associated with the tracking device (e.g., a unique trackingdevice identifier), or a location of the user (e.g., a GPS location ofthe mobile device 102 at the time the request is sent).

The tracking system 100 can be configured to provide a number offeatures and services associated with the tracking and management of aplurality of tracking devices and/or users associated with the trackingdevices. For example, the tracking system 100 can manage informationand/or user profiles associated with user 103 and community users 105.In particular, the tracking system 100 can manage information associatedwith the tracking device 106 and/or other tracking devices associatedwith the user 103 and/or the community users 105.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can receive an indicationthat the tracking device 106 is lost from the mobile device 102. Thetracking system 100 can then process the indication in order to help theuser 103 find the tracking device 106. For example, the tracking system100 can leverage the capabilities of the community mobile devices 104 tohelp find the tracking device 106. In particular, the tracking system100 may set a flag for a tracking device 106 to indicate that thetracking device 106 lost and monitor communications received from thecommunity mobile devices 104 indicating the location of one or moretracking devices 106 within proximity of the community mobile devices104. The tracking system 100 can determine whether a specific locationis associated with the lost tracking device 106 and provide any locationupdates associated with the tracking device 106 to the mobile device102. In one example, the tracking system may receive constant updates oftracking device 106 locations regardless of whether a tracking device106 is lost and provide a most recent updated location of the trackingdevice 106 in response to receiving an indication that the trackingdevice 106 is lost.

In some configurations, the tracking system 100 can send a locationrequest associated with the tracking device 106 to each of the communitymobile devices 104. The location request can include any instructionsand/or information necessary for the community mobile devices 106 tofind the tracking device 102. For example, the location request caninclude a unique identifier associated with the tracking device 106 thatcan be used by the community mobile devices 104 to identify the trackingdevice 106. Accordingly, if one of the community mobile devices 104detects a communication from the tracking device 106 (e.g., if thecommunity mobile device 104 is within range or moves within range of thecommunication capabilities of the tracking device 106 and receives asignal from the tracking device 106 including or associated with theunique identifier associated with the tracking device 106), thecommunity mobile device 104 can inform the tracking system 100. Usingthe information received from the community mobile devices 104, thetracking system 100 can inform the user (e.g., by way of the mobiledevice 102) of a potential location of the tracking device 106.

As shown in FIG. 1 and as mentioned above, the tracking system 100 cancommunicate with a plurality of community mobile devices 104 associatedwith corresponding community users 105. For example, an implementationmay include a first community mobile device 104 a associated with afirst community user 105 a, a second community mobile device 104 bassociated with a second community user 105 b, and additionalcommunication mobile devices associated with additional community usersup to an nth community mobile device 104 n associated with an nthcommunity user 105 n. The community mobile devices 104 may also includefunctionality that enables each community mobile device 104 to identifya tracking device 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device104. In one example, a first community mobile device 104 a withinproximity of a tracking device 106 can communicate with the trackingdevice 106, identify the tracking device 106 (e.g., using a uniqueidentifier associated with the tracking device 106), and/or detect alocation associated with the tracking device 106 (e.g., a location ofthe first mobile community device 104 a at the time of the communicationwith the tracking device 106). This information can be used to provideupdated locations and/or respond to a location request from the trackingsystem 100 regarding the tracking device 106. In some embodiments, thesteps performed by the first community mobile device 104 a can be hiddenfrom the first community user 105 a. Accordingly, the first communitymobile device 104 a can assist in locating the tracking device 106without bother and without the knowledge of the first community user 105a.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can assist a user 103 inlocating a tracking device 106. The tracking device may be a chip, tile,tag, or other device for housing circuitry and that may be attached toor enclosed within an object such as a wallet, keys, purse, car, orother object that the user 103 may track. Additionally, the trackingdevice 106 may include a speaker for emitting a sound and/or atransmitter for broadcasting a beacon. In one configuration, thetracking device 106 may constantly transmit a beacon signal that may bedetected using a nearby mobile device 102 and/or community mobile device104. In some configurations, the tracking device 106 broadcasts a beaconat regular intervals (e.g., one second intervals) that may be detectedfrom a nearby mobile device (e.g., community mobile device 104). Thestrength of the signal emitted from the tracking device 106 may be usedto determine a degree of proximity to the mobile device 102 or communitymobile device 104 that detects the signal. For example, a higherstrength signal would indicate a close proximity between the trackingdevice 106 and the mobile device 102 and a lower strength signal wouldindicate a more remote proximity between the tracking device 106 and themobile device 102. In some cases, the strength of signal or absence of asignal may be used to indicate that a tracking device 106 is lost.

System Overview

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram showing example components of the trackingsystem 100. As shown, the tracking system 100 may include, but is notlimited to, an association manager 204, a tracking device locationmanager 206, a data manager 208, and a search party manager 218, each ofwhich may be in communication with one another using any suitablecommunication technologies. It will be recognized that although managers204-208 are shown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the managers 204-208may be combined into fewer managers, such as into a single manager, ordivided into more managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

The association manager 204 may be configured to receive, transmit,obtain, and/or update information about a user 103 and/or informationabout one or more specific tracking devices (e.g., tracking device 106).In some configurations, the association manager 204 may associateinformation associated with a user 103 with information associated witha tracking device 106. For example, user information and trackinginformation may be obtained by way of a mobile device 102, and theassociation manager 204 may be used to link the user information andtracking information. The association between user 103 and trackingdevice 106 may be used for authentication purposes, or for storing userinformation, tracking device information, permissions, or otherinformation about a user 103 and/or tracking device 106 in a database.

The tracking system 100 also includes a tracking device location manager206. The tracking device location manager 206 may receive and process anindication that the tracking device 106 is lost from a mobile device(e.g., mobile device 102 or community mobile devices 104). For example,the tracking system 100 may receive a lost indication from a mobiledevice 102 indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. The trackingdevice location manager 206 may set a flag on a database (e.g., trackerdatabase 212) indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. Thetracking device location manager 206 may also query a database todetermine tracking information corresponding to the associated user 103and/or tracking device 106. The tracking system 100 may obtain trackingdevice information and provide the tracking device information or otherinformation associated with the tracking device 106 to a plurality ofcommunity mobile devices 104 to be on alert for the lost or unavailabletracking device 106. The tracking device location manager 206 may alsobe used to receive and process a response to a tracking request that isreceived from one or more community mobile devices 104 that detect thetracking device 106 and respond to the tracking request. For example,the tracking system 100 may receive a response to the tracking requestindicating a location within a proximity of the tracking device 106 andprovide a last known location within a proximity of the tracking device106 as provided by the community mobile device 104.

In one configuration, the tracking device location manager 206 mayreceive an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost from the mobiledevice 102 and store the lost indication on a database. When thetracking device location manager 206 receives an indication that thetracking device 106 is lost, the tracking device location manager 206may set a flag indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. Settinga flag for a tracking device 106 may include storing and/or associatinga value associated with the tracking device that indicates that thetracking device 106 is lost. This may include setting a flag, marker,digital value, or other indication that the tracking device 106 is lostand maintaining or storing the indication of the lost tracking device106 on the tracking system 100 (e.g., on a database).

The tracking device location manager 206 may further receive updatedlocations from the community of mobile devices 104 that are constantlyscanning for nearby tracking devices 106. In this example, the trackingdevice location manager 206 may receive location updates from thecommunity of mobile devices 104 and, based on the tracking device 106being indicated as lost, provide a response to a lost indication to themobile device 102. The response to the lost indication may be a textmessage, push notification, ring tone, automated voice message, or otherresponse for informing a user 103 that a tracking device 106 has beenfound and/or an updated location of the tracking device 106.

The tracking device location manager 206 may further manage providingindications about whether a tracking device 106 is lost or not lost. Forexample, as discussed above, the tracking device location manager 206may provide a location request to the community of mobile devices 104indicating that a tracking device 106 is lost. Additionally, uponlocation of the tracking device 106 by the user 103 or by one of thecommunity of users 105, the tracking device location manager 206 mayprovide an indication to the user 103, community user 105, or trackingsystem 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found, thus removingany flags associated with a tracking device and/or canceling anylocation request previously provided to the community of users 105. Forexample, where a user 103 sends an indication that the tracking device106 is lost to the tracking system 100 and later finds the trackingdevice 106, the mobile device 102 may provide an indication to thetracking system 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found. Inresponse, the tracking device location manager 206 may remove a flagindicating that the tracking device 106 is lost and/or provide anupdated indication to the community of users 105 that the trackingdevice 106 has been found, thus canceling any instructions associatedwith the previously provided location request. In some configurations,the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may beprovided automatically upon the mobile device 102 detecting a proximityof the tracking device 106. Alternatively, the notification that thetracking device 106 has been found may be provided by the user 103 viauser input on the mobile device 102. In another example, a known user(e.g., a friend or family member) with whom the tracking device 106 hasbeen shared may provide an indication that the tracking device 106 hasbeen found.

The tracking system 100 additionally includes a data manager 208. Thedata manager 208 may store and manage information associated with users,mobile devices, tracking devices, permissions, location requests, andother data that may be stored and/or maintained in a database related toperforming location services of tracking devices. As shown, the datamanager 208 may include, but is not limited to, a user database 210, atracker database 212, permissions data 214, and location request data216. It will be recognized that although databases and data within thedata manager 208 are shown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the userdatabase 210, tracker database 212, permissions data 214, and locationrequest data 216 may be combined in a single database or manager, ordivided into more databases or managers as may serve a particularembodiment.

The data manager 208 may include the user database 210. The userdatabase 210 may be used to store data related to various users. Forexample, the user database 210 may include data about the user 103 aswell as data about each user 105 in a community of users 105. Thecommunity of users 105 may include any user that has provided userinformation to the tracking system 100 via a mobile device 102, 104 orother electronic device. The user information may be associated with oneor more respective tracking devices 106, or may be stored without anassociation to a particular tracking device. For example, a communityuser 105 may provide user information and permit performance of trackingfunctions on the community mobile device 104 without owning or beingassociated with a tracking device 106. The user database 210 may alsoinclude information about one or more mobile devices or other electronicdevices associated with a particular user.

The data manager 208 may also include a tracker database 212. Thetracker database 212 may be used to store data related to trackingdevices. For example, the tracker database 212 may include tracking datafor any tracking device 106 that has been registered with the trackingsystem 100. Tracking data may include unique tracker identifications(IDs) associated with individual tracking devices 106. Tracker IDs maybe associated with a respective user 103. Tracker IDs may also beassociated with multiple users. Additionally, the tracker database 212may include any flags or other indications associated with whether aspecific tracking device 106 has been indicated as lost and whether anyincoming communications with regard to that tracking device 106 shouldbe processed based on the presence of a flag associated with thetracking device 106.

The data manager 208 may further include permissions data 214 andlocation request data 216. Permissions data 214 may include levels ofpermissions associated with a particular user 103 and/or tracking device106. For example, permissions data 214 may include additional users thathave been indicated as sharing a tracking device 106, or who have beengiven permission to locate a tracking device 106 using an account and/ormobile device 102 associated with the user 103. Location request data216 may include information related to a location request or a lostindication received from the user 103 via a mobile device 102.

The search party manager 218 coordinates the organization andimplementation of search parties to locate lost tracking devices. Forexample, the search party manager 218 can, in response to a request froman owner of a lost tracking device, invite one or more other users(owners of community mobile devices such as community mobile devices 104of FIG. 1) to join the search party based on one or more search partycriteria. The search party manager 218 can provide, for instance, a lastknown location of the tracking device and/or any reward informationcorresponding to the lost tracking device. The search party manager 218,in response to receiving location information corresponding to the losttracking device from a search party member, can provide the locationinformation to an owner of the lost tracking device, can receiveconfirmation from the owner of the lost tracking device that thetracking device was retrieved by the owner, and can transfer a reward tothe community mobile device that located the lost tracking device.Search party functionality will be described below in greater detail.

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram showing example components of the mobiledevice 102. As shown, the mobile device 102 may include, but is notlimited to, a user interface manager 302, a location request manager304, a database manager 306, and a tracking manager 308, each of whichmay be in communication with one another using any suitablecommunication technologies. It will be recognized that although managers302-308 are shown to be separate in FIG. 3, any of the managers 302-308may be combined into fewer managers, such as into a single manager, ordivided into more managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

As will be explained in more detail below, the mobile device 102includes the user interface manager 302. The user interface manager 302may facilitate providing the user 103 access to data on a trackingsystem 100 and/or providing data to the tracking system 100. Further,the user interface manager 302 provides a user interface by which theuser 103 may communicate with tracking system 100 and/or tracking device106 via mobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 may also include a location request manager 304.The location request manager 304 may receive and process a request inputto the mobile device 102 to send an indication that a tracking device106 is lost to a tracking system 100. For example, the user 103 mayprovide an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost, unreachable,or otherwise unavailable from the mobile device 102 via the userinterface manager 302, and the location request manager 304 may processthe lost indication and provide any necessary data to the trackingsystem 100 for processing and relaying a location request to other users105 over a network 108. In some configurations, an indication that atracking device 106 is lost is provided via user input. Alternatively,the indication may be transmitted automatically in response to themobile device 102 determining that a tracking device 106 is lost.

The mobile device 102 may also include a database manager 306. Thedatabase manager 306 may maintain data related to the user 103, trackingdevice 106, permissions, or other data that may be used for locating atracking device 106 and/or providing a request to a tracking system 100for locating one or more tracking devices 106 associated with the user103. Further, the database manager 306 may maintain any information thatmay be accessed using any other manager on the mobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 may further include a tracking manager 308. Thetracking manager 308 may include a tracking application (e.g., asoftware application) for communicating with and locating a trackingdevice 106 associated with the user 103. For example, the trackingmanager 308 may be one configuration of a tracking application installedon the mobile device 102 that provides the functionality for locating atracking device 106 and/or requesting location of a tracking device 106using a plurality of community mobile devices 104. As shown, thetracking manager 308 may include, but is not limited to, a Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE) manager 310, a persistence manager 312, a local filesmanager 314, a motion manager 316, a secure storage manager 318, asettings manager 320, a location manager 322, a network manager 324, anotification manager 326, a sound manager 328, a friends manager 330, aphoto manager 332, an authentication manager 334, and a device manager336. Thus, the tracking manager 308 may perform any of the functionsassociated with managers 310-338, described in additional detail below.

The BLE manager 310 may be used to manage communication with one or moretracking devices 106. The persistence manager 312 may be used to storelogical schema information that is relevant to the tracking manager 308.The local files manager 314 may be responsible for managing all filesthat are input or output from the mobile device 102. The motion manager316 may be responsible for all motion management required by thetracking manager 308. The secure storage manager may be responsible forstorage of secure data, including information such as passwords andprivate data that would be accessed through this sub-system. Thesettings manager 320 may be responsible for managing settings used bythe tracking manager 308. Such settings may be user controlled (e.g.,user settings) or defined by the tracking manager 308 for internal use(e.g., application settings) by a mobile device 102 and/or the trackingsystem 100. The location manager 322 may be responsible for all locationtracking done by the tracking manager 308. For example, the locationmanager 322 may manage access to the location services of the mobiledevice 102 and works in conjunction with other managers to persist data.The network manager 324 may be responsible for all Internetcommunications from the tracking manager 308. For example, the networkmanager 324 may mediate all Internet API calls for the tracking manager308. The notification manager 326 may be responsible for managing localand push notifications required by the tracking manager 308. The soundmanager 328 may be responsible for playback of audio cues by thetracking manager 308. The friends manager 330 may be responsible formanaging access to contacts and the user's social graph. The photomanager 332 may be responsible for capturing and managing photos used bythe tracking manager 308. The authentication manager 334 may beresponsible for handling the authentication (e.g., sign in or login) ofusers. The authentication manager 334 may also include registration(e.g., sign up) functionality. The authentication manager 334 furthercoordinates with other managers to achieve registration functionality.The device manager 336 may be responsible for managing the devicesdiscovered by the tracking manager 308. The device manager 336 mayfurther store and/or maintain the logic for algorithms related to devicediscovery and update.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram showing example components of a communitymobile device 104. As shown, the community mobile device 104 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a user interface manager 402, a losttracking device manager 404, a database manager 406, and a trackingmanager 408, each of which may be in communication with one anotherusing any suitable communication technologies. The user interfacemanager 402, database manager 406, and tracking manager 408 illustratedin FIG. 4 may include similar features and functionality as the userinterface manager 302, database manager 306, and tracking manager 308described above in connection with FIG. 3. It will be recognized thatalthough managers 402-408 are shown to be separate in FIG. 4, any of themanagers 402-408 may be combined into fewer managers, such as into asingle manager, or divided into more managers as may serve a particularembodiment.

The community mobile device 104 may include a lost tracking devicemanager 404. The lost tracking device manager 404 may facilitatescanning for nearby tracking devices 106. In some configurations, thelost tracking device manager 404 can continuously or periodically scan(e.g., once per second) for nearby tracking devices 106. The losttracking device manager 404 may determine whether to provide an updatedlocation of the nearby tracking device 106 to the tracking system 100.In some configurations, the lost tracking device manager 404 provides alocation of a nearby tracking device 106 automatically. Alternatively,the lost tracking device manager 404 may determine whether the locationof the tracking device 106 has been recently updated, and determinewhether to provide an updated location based on the last time a locationof the tracking device 106 has been updated (e.g., by the communitymobile device 104). For example, where the community mobile device 104has provided a recent update of the location of a tracking device 106,the lost tracking device manager 404 may decide to wait a predeterminedperiod of time (e.g., 5 minutes) before providing an updated location ofthe same tracking device 106.

In one configuration, the lost tracking device manager 404 may receiveand process a location request or other information relayed to thecommunity mobile device 104 by the tracking system 100. For example, thelost tracking device manager 404 may receive an indication of a trackingdevice 106 that has been indicated as lost, and provide a location ofthe tracking device 106 if it comes within proximity of the communitymobile device 104. In some configurations, the community mobile device104 is constantly scanning nearby areas to determine if there is atracking device 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device104. Therefore, where a tracking device 106 that matches informationprovided by the tracking system 100 (e.g., from the location request)comes within proximity of the community mobile device 104, the losttracking device manager 404 may generate and transmit a response to thelocation request to the tracking system 100, which may be provided tothe user 103 associated with the lost tracking device 106. Further,generating and transmitting the response to the tracking request may beconditioned on the status of the tracking device 106 being flagged aslost by the mobile device 102 and/or the tracking system 100.

The lost tracking device manager 404 may additionally provide otherinformation to the tracking system 100 in response to receiving thetracking request. For example, in addition to providing a location ofthe community mobile device 104, the lost tracking device manager mayprovide a signal strength associated with the location to indicate alevel of proximity to the location of the community mobile device 104provided to the user 103. For example, if a signal strength is high, thelocation provided to the user 103 is likely to be more accurate than alocation accompanied by a low signal strength. This may provideadditional information that the user 103 may find useful in determiningthe precise location of tracking device 106.

As described above, the lost tracking device manager 404 may determinewhether to send a location within the proximity of the tracking device106 to the tracking system 100. The determination of whether to send alocation to the tracking system 100 may be based on a variety offactors. For example, a lost tracking device manager 404 may determineto send a location of the tracking device 106 to a tracking system 100based on whether the detected tracking device 106 has been indicated aslost or if a tracking request has been provided to the community mobiledevice 104 for the particular tracking device 106. In someconfigurations, the community mobile device 104 may send an update of alocation of a tracking device 106 even if the tracking device 106 is notassociated with a current tracking request or if the tracking device 106is not indicated as lost. For example, where the location of a trackingdevice 106 has not been updated for a predetermined period of time, thecommunity mobile device 104 may provide an update of a tracking devicelocation to the tracking system 100, regardless of whether a trackingrequest has been received.

In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 may includeadditional features. For example, the community mobile device 104 mayallow a tracking system 100 to snap and download a photo using photofunctionality of the community mobile device 104. In someconfigurations, this may be an opt-in feature by which a community user105 permits a tracking system 100 to take a snap-shot and possiblyprovide a visual image of an area within a proximity of the trackingdevice 106.

Search Party Management

In some embodiments, the tracking system 100 enables the use of anetwork of community mobile devices to locate a lost tracking device inresponse to a request from an owner of the lost tracking device, forinstance, via the search party manager 218. In such embodiments, theowner of the lost tracking device can request the formation of a searchparty to locate the lost tracking device, and the search party manager218 invites one or more of the network of community mobile devices tojoin the search party. As used herein, community mobile devices thathave accepted an invitation to locate a lost tracking device in responseto a request from the owner of the lost tracking device are referred toas a “search party”. Community mobile devices can be invited to join asearch party based on one or more criteria. In some implementations, areward for locating the lost tracking device may be offered by the ownerof the lost tracking device.

A search party, after its creation by the search party manager 218, maybe populated by inviting community mobile devices 104 to participatebased on certain criteria, hereafter “search party criteria.” In someembodiments, invited community mobile devices become members of thesearch party after acceptance of the invitation. In some configurations,invited community mobile devices may become search party members withouthaving to accept the invitation. Search party manager 218 may monitormembership in the search party and can expand the search party criteriabased on target membership goals or other metrics associated with themanagement of the search party.

In response to accepting an inviting to join a search party, members ofthe search party are given additional information about the losttracking device. For example, members of the search party may be giventhe last known location of the lost tracking device. Likewise, searchparty members may be given information about a reward offered inassociation with the search party.

In some configurations, the search party is implemented by search partymanager 218 until the lost tracking device is found, until the owner ofthe lost tracking device cancels the search party, or until theoccurrence of one or more conditions corresponding to the canceling ofthe search party (such as the passage of a threshold amount of time).Before the search party is canceled, the owner of the lost trackingdevice may be notified by search party manager 218. For example, if thelost device was located, the owner of the lost tracking device may benotified of its location by search party manager 218, and if a thresholdamount of time has passed without the device being located, the ownercan be notified that the search party was expired.

In some configurations, the owner of a lost tracking device sends asearch party request via their associated mobile device or any othersuitable interface to the search party manager 218. The request maycontain any relevant information associated with the search partyrequest, for example reward information, requested search party criteria(such as a desired duration of the search party, a desired size of thesearch party, the last known location of the lost tracking device,another location associated with the tracking device, a reputation ofcandidate search party members, a proximity to last known location ofcandidate search party members, a relationship type or strength betweencandidate search party members and the owner of the lost trackingdevice, and the like) or any other information associated with the losttracking device that might be useful in locating the lost trackingdevice (such as a photograph of the lost tracking device, properties ofthe lost tracking device, and the like).

In response to receiving a search party request, the search partymanager 218 implements a search party. In some embodiments, the searchparty manager 218 implements a search party based on requested searchparty criteria included within the search party request, such as arequested size of a search party and a threshold reputation of searchparty members. The search party manager 218 then invites candidatesearch party members based on the requested search party criteria. Insome embodiments, if a search party is requested with invalid orinfeasible search party criteria, the search party manager 218 canexpand or alter the requested search party criteria before implementingthe search party. For instance, if the search party request requestsusers above a threshold reputation for inclusion within a search party,and no users with an above threshold reputation are within a thresholddistance of the lost tracking device's last known location, the searchparty manager 218 can implement the search party without the thresholdreputation requirement. As used herein, community mobile devices thatsatisfy any search party criteria and that are eligible for invitationto the search party are referred to as “candidate search party members.”In some embodiments, candidate search party members are selected fromowners of community mobile devices that configure their devices ortracking system accounts to participate in search parties.

In some embodiments, the search party manager 218 implements a searchparty based on default search party criteria. For instance, the searchparty manager 218 may implement a search party with a pre-determinedtarget number of search party members, such as 10 users. In suchembodiments, the search party manager 218 can invite candidate searchparty members to join the search party, and in response to the number ofinvited candidate search party members that accept the invitation, canalter the default search party criteria to expand the number of searchparty members. For instance, if the search party manager 218 invites 20candidate search party members within a first threshold distance of thelast known location of the lost tracking device with a goal of having 10candidate members join the search party, and only 6 candidate membersend up joining the search party, the search party manager can identifyadditional candidate search party members by, for example, expanding thefirst threshold distance to a second, larger threshold distance of thelast known location.

As noted above, candidate search party members can be selected based onthe proximity of the candidate search party member to a last knownlocation of the tracking device. FIG. 5 illustrates an environment forlocating a tracking device, according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 shows anowner 103 and an owner mobile device 102 associated with a lost trackingdevice 501. Candidate search party members 104 a-104 f are locatedaround the last known location 502 of the lost tracking device 501. Inthe embodiment of FIG. 5, search party members are identified based on aproximity to the last known location 502 of the lost tracking device. Inthis embodiment, users 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d are within a firstthreshold distance of the last known location 502 and are invited tojoin the search party. In response to determining to invite additionalcandidate search party members (for instance, in response to a less thanrequested threshold number of candidate search party members joining thesearch party), the first threshold distance can be expanded to agreater, second threshold distance from the last known location 502,within which users 105 c, 105 e, and 105 g reside. In this embodiment,users 105 f and 105 h is outside of both the first threshold distanceand the second threshold distance from the last known location 502, andis not invited to join the search party.

Candidate search party members can be selected based on historicallocation data associated with the candidate search party member. Forexample, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, user 105 f is far from the lastknown location 502 of the lost tracking device 501. However, if thecandidate search party member 104 f is associated with historicallocation data showing past proximity within a threshold distance of thelast known location 502, candidate search party member 104 f may beinvited to the search party based on this factor. For instance, if thecandidate search party member 104 f passes close by the last knownlocation 502 on the way home from work between 6 pm and 7 pm every day,the candidate search party member 104 f may be invited to join thesearch party. In some embodiments, candidate search party members can beselected based on historical location data and time data, and based oncurrent time data. Continuing with the previous example, candidatesearch party member 104 f can be invited to join the search party if thecurrent time is 6:30 pm (or within a threshold amount of time of the6:00 pm to 7:00 pm interval highlighted above), and can avoided to jointhe search party if the current time is 9:00 am.

In another embodiment, candidate search party members are selected basedon previous participation in search parties. For example, candidatesearch party members may be assigned a reputation based on pastparticipation in successful search parties. A candidate search partymember's reputation may be increased in response to successfully findingthe lost mobile device in a previous search party. In some embodiments,candidate search party members may be selected by comparing theirreputation score against a reputation threshold included within thesearch party criteria. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, users 105 c, 105 d,and 105 f may have reputation exceeding a threshold reputation, and maybe invited to the search party accordingly. It should be noted that acandidate search party member's reputation can also be decreased, forinstance in response to bad behavior reported by other search partymembers or users of the tracking system 100, in response toparticipating in a threshold number of search parties withoutsuccessfully locating a lost tracking device, or based on any othersuitable criteria.

Candidate search party members may be selected based on a connection toor relationship with the owner 103 of the lost tracking device 501. Thesystem 100 can store connections or relationships between users of thetracking system 100 internally. Alternatively, connections orrelationships between users can be obtained from an outside source. Forexample, the search party manager 218 may interface with a socialnetworking system and access connections between users from a socialgraph of the social networking system. Candidate search party memberswith an established relationship (such as “friends” within the socialnetworking system) with the owner 103 of the lost tracking device 501can be invited to join the search party.

In another embodiment, candidate search party members can be directlyinvited by the owner of the lost tracking device. For example, thesearch party manager 218 may provide the owner 103 a link or URL whichthe owner 103 can provide to candidate search party members, forinstance via text messaging, email, social media, and the like.Candidate search party members who click the provided link are thenadded to the search party, according to one embodiment. In otherembodiments, the owner 103 can invite candidate search party membersdirectly from the mobile device 102 or from an application associatedwith the tracking system 100. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, user 105 cmay be directly sent an invite by the owner 103, and, in response to aselection of a link within the invite, may be added to the search party.

In another configuration, candidate search party members 104 may requestto join a search party. In some embodiments, community mobile devices104 may present an interface that allows community users 105 to viewactive nearby search parties. In such embodiments, a community user 105may then request an invite to a search party. For example, in FIG. 5,the candidate search party member 105 g may request an invite to asearch party to locate the lost tracking device 501 through an interfacepresented by the community mobile device 104 g. Upon receiving thisrequest, the search party manager 218 may add the candidate search partymember 105 g to the search party, for instance if the candidate searchparty member satisfies any search party criteria corresponding to thesearch party.

As noted above, in some embodiments, search party criteria are notstatic over the lifetime of the search party. The search party manager218 can modify the search party criteria, for instance based on one ormore search goals (such as a number of search party members, the passageof an interval of time without a lost tracking device being located, andthe like). For example, if less than a threshold number of search partymembers have accepted invitations to join a search party, search partycriteria can be expanded or eliminated, for instance by increasing arequisite threshold proximity to the last known location of a losttracking device 501.

Search party criteria may also be modified by search party manager 218based on any number of additional factors. In some configurations, anowner of a lost tracking device can adjust the search party criteriaafter making the initial search party request, for instance using themobile device corresponding to the lost tracking device or using anyother tracking system interface. In some embodiments, the search partymanager 218 adjusts the search party criteria based on outside factorssuch as time of day or weather conditions. It should be noted thatalthough several search party criteria are described hereinindividually, in practice, candidate search party members can beidentified and invited to join a search party based on any combinationof search party criteria as well.

In some configurations, candidate search party members are provided withdata on the progress or performance of the search party FIG. 6illustrates an interface for use in locating a tracking device,according to one embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, a map 600 isgenerated by search party manager 218 and displayed to search partymembers to increase the efficiency of search party members in searchingfor lost tracking device 501. User paths 602 and 604 trace the paths ofsearch party members 105 i and 105 j. Displaying this information tosearch party members enables the users to avoid overlapping or searchinglocations that have already been searched by another search partymember.

In some embodiments, an approximate search range of a community mobiledevice 104 can be displayed in conjunction with a path taken by a searchparty member. For example, user path 604 has a range 606 representing anouter limit of the communicative range of the community mobile device104 j. In such embodiments, if the lost tracking device 501 is locatedcloser to the user path 604 than the range 606, the community mobiledevice 104 j will locate the lost tracking device. For example, in theembodiment of FIG. 6, range 608 represents the communicative range ofthe lost tracking device 501. Accordingly, the map area defined bylocations within the range 606 on either side of the user path 604represents locations already searched by the search party member 105 j.By displaying such areas, other search party members can expedite theirsearch for the lost tracking device 501 by avoiding such areas. The userpath 604 and the area within the range 606 can be colored, graduated, orotherwise modified within the map 600, and can display other relevantinformation such as estimated signal strength of the community mobiledevice 104 j, the time since search was performed by the communitymobile device 104 j, the identity of the search party member 105 j, orany other information. This information may additionally be used bysearch party manager 218 to calculate various search party metrics, forexample the percentage of searched area within a target area centered onlast known location 502. This additional data may then be displayed onsearch party member devices, displayed to candidate search partymembers, accessible by the owner of the lost tracking device 501, orused in any other suitable manner.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for locating a trackingdevice, accordingly to one embodiment. According to the embodiment ofFIG. 7, a tracking system receives 710 a search party request from anowner of a lost tracking device. The request can include search partycriteria, an identity of the lost tracking device, an identity of theowner, or any other suitable information. The tracking system selects712 search party criteria in response to and based on the receivedsearch party request. For instance, the search party criteria caninclude a proximity to a last known location of the lost trackingdevice, a target number of search party members, and a reputation ofcandidate search party members. Candidate search party members areselected 714 based on the selected search party criteria, and selectedcandidate search party members are invited 716 to join the search party.

Responses to the invitations are received 718 from candidate searchparty members. The number of acceptances to join the search party iscompared 722 to a target number of search party members. In response tothe number of acceptances being below the target number of search partymembers, the search party criteria are expanded 726 and more candidatesearch party members are selected and invited to join the search partybased on the expanded criteria.

After a threshold interval of time, the search party manager 218 checks724 to see if the lost tracking device has been located. For example,the tracking system may receive 725 a location of the lost trackingdevice from a search party member. If the lost tracking device 501 hasnot yet been located within the threshold interval of time, the searchparty criteria can be expanded 726, and additional candidate searchparty members can be selected and invited to join the search party basedon the expanded criteria. If during the interval of time, a location ofthe lost tracking device is received by search party manager 218, thetracking device is marked within the tracking system as found, and thetracking system notifies 728 the owner of the lost tracking device andcancels 730 the search party.

In some embodiments, for example when the search party is no longerdeemed effective, when the number of search party members falls below athreshold, after the passage of a pre-determined interval of time, orthe like, a search party may be canceled without the lost trackingdevice being located. In another embodiment, an owner of the losttracking device may cancel a search party by sending a request to searchparty manager 218.

As noted previously, an owner of a lost tracking device may post areward for finding the lost tracking device. In some embodiments, thereward may be awarded to one search party member or any number of searchparty members that locate the lost tracking device, and may be amonetary reward, a discount or coupon, a product, a service, anachievement, a reputation increase, or any other suitable reward. Thereward can be included within the search party request from the owner ofthe lost tracking device. For instance, when requesting a search party,the owner of the lost tracking device can transfer a monetary award froman account of the owner to the search party manager 218 for holdinguntil the lost tracking device is located.

Upon finding the lost tracking device, a search party member can claimthe reward. The search party manager 218, in response, can ask the ownerof the lost tracking device to verify that the lost tracking device hasbeen found. Such verification can occur manually (for instance, thesearch party manager 218 can provide the location of the lost trackingdevice to the owner of the lost tracking device, who then notifies thesearch party manager 218 that the lost tracking device has been found),or automatically (for instance, the mobile device of the owner cancommunicatively detect the lost tracking device, and can notify thesearch party manager 218 that the lost tracking device has been found).When the owner of the lost tracking device verifies that the losttracking device has been found, the search party manager 218 can releasethe reward held by the tracking system to an account of the search partymember that found the lost tracking device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process for compensating a personfor locating a tracking device, according to one embodiment. In theembodiment of FIG. 8, the reward is received 810 from an owner of thelost tracking device, for instance in conjunction with a search partyrequest, where it is held 812 until claimed. A location of the losttracking device is received 814 from a search party member, and thelocation of the lost tracking device is provided 816 to the owner of thelost tracking device. Verification that the lost tracking device hasbeen found is received 818 from the owner, and the reward is transferred820 to the search party member that found the lost tracking device.

In some embodiments, a search party may end without the lost trackingdevice being found, or the owner of the lost tracking device or acommunity user not included within the search party may find the losttracking device. In such embodiments, the reward is returned to theowner of the lost tracking device.

Additional Considerations

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure.

Any of the devices or systems described herein can be implemented by oneor more computing devices. A computing device can include a processor, amemory, a storage device, an I/O interface, and a communicationinterface, which may be communicatively coupled by way of communicationinfrastructure. Additional or alternative components may be used inother embodiments. In particular embodiments, a processor includeshardware for executing computer program instructions by retrieving theinstructions from an internal register, an internal cache, or othermemory or storage device, and decoding and executing them. The memorycan be used for storing data or instructions for execution by theprocessor. The memory can be any suitable storage mechanism, such asRAM, ROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and the like. The storagedevice can store data or computer instructions, and can include a harddisk drive, flash memory, an optical disc, or any other suitable storagedevice. The I/O interface allows a user to interact with the computingdevice, and can include a mouse, keypad, keyboard, touch screeninterface, and the like. The communication interface can includehardware, software, or a combination of both, and can provide one ormore interfaces for communication with other devices or entities.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storagemedium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification mayinclude a single processor or may be architectures employing multipleprocessor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that isproduced by a computing process described herein. Such a product maycomprise information resulting from a computing process, where theinformation is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer programproduct or other data combination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for locating a lost tracking device,comprising: responsive to a first device satisfying one or more searchparty criteria, receiving, at the first device from a tracking server,an invitation to join a search party to find the lost tracking devicewithin a geographic area, the search party comprising a plurality ofmembers each associated with a device; and in response to 1) joining thesearch party and 2) receiving information describing movement of devicesof other search party members within the geographic area: displaying, bythe first device, a map interface corresponding to the geographic areato a user of the first device; and modifying, by the first device, themap interface to identify portions of the geographic area within acommunicative range of at least one device of the other search partymembers as the devices move through the geographic area.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising modifying the map interface to furtheridentify a portion of the geographic area within a communicative rangeof the first device as the first device moves through the geographicarea.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the map interface furthercomprises an indication of the last known location of the lost trackingdevice.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein joining the search partycomprises transmitting, by the first device to the tracking server, anacceptance to join the search party.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising transmitting, by the first device to the tracking server, arequest to join the search party.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising transmitting, to the tracking server from the first device,information describing a movement of the first device through thegeographic area.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the mapinterface comprises including a path of at least one device of the othersearch party members and an indication of the communicative range of thedevice on each side of the path.
 8. A system, comprising: anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executablecomputer instructions that, when executed, cause the system to performsteps comprising: responsive to the system satisfying one or more searchparty criteria, receiving, at the system from a tracking server, aninvitation to join a search party to find the lost tracking devicewithin a geographic area, the search party comprising a plurality ofmembers each associated with a device; and in response to 1) joining thesearch party and 2) receiving information describing movement of devicesof other search party members within the geographic area: displaying, bythe system, a map interface corresponding to the geographic area to auser of the first device; and modifying, by the system, the mapinterface to identify portions of the geographic area within acommunicative range of at least one device of the other search partymembers as the devices move through the geographic area; and a hardwareprocessor configured to execute the instructions.
 9. The system of claim8, wherein the steps further comprise steps for modifying the mapinterface to further identify a portion of the geographic area within acommunicative range of the system as the system moves through thegeographic area.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein the map interfacefurther comprises an indication of the last known location of the losttracking device.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein joining the searchparty comprises transmitting, by the system to the tracking server, anacceptance to join the search party.
 12. The system of claim 8, whereinthe steps further comprise steps for transmitting, by the system to thetracking server, a request to join the search party.
 13. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the steps further comprise steps for transmitting, tothe tracking server from the system, information describing a movementof the system through the geographic area.
 14. The system of claim 8,wherein modifying the map interface comprises including a path of atleast one device of the other search party members and an indication ofthe communicative range of the device on each side of the path.
 15. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executablecomputer instructions that, when executed by a hardware processor, causethe hardware processor to perform steps comprising: responsive to afirst device satisfying one or more search party criteria, receiving, atthe first device from a tracking server, an invitation to join a searchparty to find the lost tracking device within a geographic area, thesearch party comprising a plurality of members each associated with adevice; and in response to 1) joining the search party and 2) receivinginformation describing movement of devices of other search party memberswithin the geographic area: displaying, by the first device, a mapinterface corresponding to the geographic area to a user of the firstdevice; and modifying, by the first device, the map interface toidentify portions of the geographic area within a communicative range ofat least one device of the other search party members as the devicesmove through the geographic area.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the steps furthercomprising steps for modifying the map interface to further identify aportion of the geographic area within a communicative range of the firstdevice as the first device moves through the geographic area.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein themap interface further comprises an indication of the last known locationof the lost tracking device.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein joining the search party comprisestransmitting, by the first device to the tracking server, an acceptanceto join the search party.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, the steps further comprising steps fortransmitting, by the first device to the tracking server, a request tojoin the search party.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 15, the steps further comprising steps for transmitting,to the tracking server from the first device, information describing amovement of the first device through the geographic area.